2025 Fall

COGSCI 115 001 - LEC 001

Neuropsychology of Happiness

Davina Chan

Aug 27, 2025 - Dec 12, 2025

Tu, Th

11:00 am - 12:29 pm

McCone 145

Class #:26122

Units: 3

Instruction Mode: In-Person Instruction

Offered through International and Area Studies Teaching Program

Current Enrollment

Total Open Seats: 0

Enrolled: 70

Waitlisted: 25

Capacity: 70

Waitlist Max: 25

No Reserved Seats

Hours & Workload

3 hours of instructor presentation of course materials per week, and 6 hours of outside work hours per week.

This course will explore cognitive and affective components of happiness and distress, including pleasure, meaning, and well-being, sadness, fear, and anger. Also, negative thought patterns associated with various psychological disorders, including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and PTSD, and their neurological underpinnings. Then we will turn to the new field of self-directed neuroplasticity to explore evidence-based psychotherapeutic techniques for transforming negative thoughts and cultivating positive ones, including mindfulness, gratitude, and CBT-based techniques. We will compare these to psychoactive drugs and brain stimulation used to treat such disorders. We will also look at recent developments in neuroimaging data.

Class Notes

Graduating seniors on the waitlist who must take this class in order to finish their CogSci major may fill out the following form to request an emergency seat: https://forms.gle/dXSUfPPDb7W7aSrU6. The form will open June 14. Please do contact the instructor. The only way to receive an emergency seat.. show more